The Pacific women's basketball team has come to rely on Erica McKenzie to make big shots over her four-year career, and it needed the biggest one on Friday afternoon.

McKenzie remained calm despite all of the chaos and poor play around her and made a game-winning 3-pointer with 5 seconds remaining. The top-seeded Tigers didn't play well against No. 8 Cal State Fullerton in their Big West Conference Tournament semifinal, but they survived thanks mostly to their rock-steady senior guard. McKenzie finished with 25 points on 8-of-14 shooting, helping the top-seeded Tigers overcome sloppiness and subpar shooting and beat the No. 8 Titans 54-51 at Honda Center.

Pacific (25-6) advanced to the championship game against No. 2 Cal Poly at 1 p.m. today after the Mustangs beat UC Santa Barbara 62-43 in the other semifinal. The winner will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

McKenzie's winning shot came after Cal State Fuller-ton's Mya Olivier tied the game with a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining after a McKenzie turnover. Pacific took the inbounds pass and point guard Gena Johnson found McKenzie at the arc. She caught it, took one dribble and launched a deep 3-pointer.

"Gena gave it to me and did a good job screening my defender, so I just let the ball fly and it went our way," McKenzie said. "As soon as it left my hand, I knew it was good. To hit that to extend our season is such a great feeling."

Coach Lynne Roberts said her team had spent a lot of practice time the past two weeks on end-of-game situations, so she decided against taking a timeout after the Titans (11-22) had tied it. She wanted Johnson to drive and look for McKenzie, and it worked.

"I'll give Erica that shot to win a game every day of the week, because she's been making shots like that for four years," Roberts said. "It was so clutch and she was so unbelievable all day."

Pacific made 16 of 50 shots in the game with the Tigers not named McKenzie making 8-of-36 attempts. Roberts credited Cal State Fullerton's physical defense that clogged up the lane and forced tough shots. Pacific also hurt itself at the free-throw line, making 15 of 27.

No one on Pacific has ever beaten Cal Poly with a nine-game losing streak dating back four seasons. The Mustangs swept Pacific this season, winning 96-95 in triple overtime in San Luis Obispo on Jan. 12 and 62-59 at Spanos Center on Feb. 7. McKenzie and Rodriguez have suffered through the 0-9 mark against the Mustangs and are glad they get one final shot at redemption.

"It's been frustrating for us and Erica and I," Rodriguez said, "and we have talked about how if we had another opportunity against Cal Poly, we would leave it all out on the floor."